A Treasury of Tongue-Twisters

A

Amidst the mists and coldest frosts,
With stoutest wrists and loudest boasts,
He thrusts his fist against the posts
And still insists he sees the ghosts.

Are our oars oak?

Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.

B

Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar.

Betty better butter Brad's bread.

Betty Botter bought some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
It will make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter -
That would make my batter better."
So she bought a bit of butter,
Better than her bitter butter,
And she baked it in her batter,
And the batter was not bitter.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
Bought a bit of better butter.

A bitter biting bittern
Bit a better brother bittern,
And the bitter better bittern
Bit the bitter biter back.
And the bitter bittern, bitten,
By the better bitten bittern,
Said: "I'm a bitter biter bit, alack!"

Black bug's blood.

The blue bluebird blinks.

The bootblack bought the black boot back.

A box of biscuits, a batch of mixed biscuits.

Brad's big black bath brush broke.

C

Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?

Cecily thought Sicily less thistly than Thessaly.

Cedar shingles should be shaved and saved.

A cheap ship trip.

Chop shops stock chops.

Comical economists.

Cows graze in groves on grass which grows in grooves in groves.

Crisp crusts crackle crunchily.

The crow flew over the river with a lump of raw liver.

D

Do drunk ducks and drakes drown?

Don't pamper damp scamp tramps that camp under ramp lamps.

A dozen double damask dinner napkins.

Draw drowsy ducks and drakes.

E

Ed had edited it.

The epitome of femininity.

F

Fat frogs flying past fast.

A fat thrush flies through thick fog.

Flash message!

Flee from fog to fight flu fast!

Fred fed Ted bread; Ted fed Fred bread.

Freshly fried flying fish, freshly fried flesh.

Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.

G

Gertie's great-grandma grew aghast at Gertie's grammar.

Girl gargoyle, guy gargoyle.

Give me the gift of a griptop sock: a drip-drape, ship-shape, tip-top sock.

Give Mr. Snipe's wife's knife a swipe.

Good blood, bad blood.

Greek grapes.

H

How many cans can a canner can
If a canner can can cans?
A canner can can that many cans
As a canner can can cans.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck
If a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could,
And chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would
If a woodchuck could chuck wood.

I

I cannot bear to see a bear
Bear down upon a hare.
When bare of hair he strips the hare,
Right there I cry, "Forbear!"

I can think of six thin things and of six thick things too.

I correctly recollect Rebecca MacGregor's reckoning.

If a Hottentot taught a Hottentot tot
To talk ere the tot could totter,
Ought the Hottenton tot
Be taught to say aught, or naught,
Or what ought to be taught her?
If to hoot and to toot a Hottentot tot
Be taught by her Hottentot tutor,
Ought the tutor get hot
If the Hottentot tot
Hoot and toot at her Hottentot tutor?

If one doctor doctors another doctor, does the doctor who doctors the doctor doctor the doctor the way the doctor he is doctoring doctors? Or does he doctor the doctor the way the doctor who doctors doctors?

If Stu chews shoes, should Stu choose the shoes he chews?

I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.

I'm not the pheasant plucker,
I'm the pheasant plucker's mate.
I'm only plucking pheasants
'Cause the pheasant plucker's late.

Inchworms itching.

I need not your needles, they're needless to me;
For kneading of noodles, 'twere needless, you see;
But did my neat knickers but need to be kneed,
I then should have need of your needles indeed.

Irish wristwatch.

I saw Esau kissing Kate. I saw Esau, he saw me, and she saw I saw Esau.

I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.

Is this your sister's sixth zither, sir?

I thought a thought
But the thought I thought
Was not the thought
I thought I thought.

K

Knapsack straps.

Kris Kringle carefully crunched on candy canes.

L

A laurel-crowned clown.

The Leith police dismisseth us.

Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

Lily ladles little Letty's lentil soup.

Listen to the local yokel yodel.

Lovely lemon liniment.

M

Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone.

The minx mixed a medicinal mixture.

Mixed biscuits.

Mix, Miss, Mix!

Moose noshing much mush.

Mr. See owned a saw.
And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.
Now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw
Before Soar saw See,
Which made Soar sore.
Had Soar seen See's saw
Before See sawed Soar's seesaw,
See's saw would not have sawed
Soar's seesaw.
So See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw.
But it was sad to see Soar so sore
Just because See's saw sawed
Soar's seesaw!

My dame hath a lame tame crane,
My dame hath a crane that is lame.

The myth of Miss Muffet.

N

Ned Nott was shot and Sam Shott was not.
So it is better to be Shott than Nott.
Some say Nott was not shot.
But Shott says he shot Nott.
Either the shot Shott shot at Nott was not shot,
Or Nott was shot.
If the shot Shott shot shot Nott, Nott was shot.
But if the shot Shott shot shot Shott,
Then Shott was shot, not Nott.
However, the shot Shott shot shot not Shott, but Nott.

Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely.

O

The ochre ogre ogled the poker.

Of all the felt I ever felt,
I never felt a piece of felt
Which felt as fine as that felt felt,
When first I felt that felt hat's felt.

Old oily Ollie oils old oily autos.

Once upon a barren moor
There dwelt a bear, also a boar.
The bear could not bear the boar.
The boar thought the bear a bore.
At last the bear could bear no more
Of that boar that bored him on the moor,
And so one morn he bored the boar -
That boar will bore the bear no more.

One-One was a racehorse;
Two-Two was one, too.
When One-One won one race,
Two-Two won one, too.

On mules we find two legs behind
And two we find before.
We stand behind before we find
What those behind be for.

P

Pacific Lithograph.

Peggy Babcock.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Pick a partner and practice passing, for if you pass proficiently, perhaps you'll play professionally.

Plague-bearing prairie dogs.

A pleasant place to place a plaice is a place where a plaice is pleased to be placed.

Please pay promptly.

Pope Sixtus VI's six texts.

Preshrunk silk shirts.

Pretty Kitty Creighton had a cotton batten cat.
The cotton batten cat was bitten by a rat.
The kitten that was bitten had a button for an eye,
And biting off the button made the cotton batten fly.

A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot.

Pure food for poor mules.

Q

Quick kiss. Quicker kiss.

R

Red leather, yellow leather.

Red lorry, yellow lorry.

Rubber baby buggy bumper.

Ruby Rugby's brother bought and brought her back some rubber baby-buggy bumpers.

S

Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.

Sarah saw a shot-silk sash shop full of shot-silk sashes as the sunshine shone on the side of the shot-silk sash shop.

The sawingest saw I ever saw saw was the saw I saw saw in Arkansas.

Say this sharply, say this sweetly;
Say this shortly, say this softly;
Say this sixteen times in succession.

The seething sea ceaseth and thus the seething sea sufficeth us.

Selfish shellfish.

Shelter for six sick scenic sightseers.

She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore.
The shells she sells are sea-shells, I'm sure.
For if she sells sea-shells on the sea-shore
Then I'm sure she sells sea-shore shells.

She stood on the balcony inexplicably mimicking him hiccuping, and amicably welcoming him home.

She was a thistle sifter and sifted thistles through a thistle sieve.

Shredded Swiss cheese.

Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.

Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep.
The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed
Shilly-shallied south.
These sheep shouldn't sleep in a shack;
Sheep should sleep in a shed.

Sinful Caesar sipped his snifter, seized his knees, and sneezed.

The sinking steamer sank.

Sixish. Sixish. Sixish.

Six sharp smart sharks.

Six shimmering sharks sharply striking shins.

Six short slow shepherds.

Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings.

Six slippery snails slid slowly seaward.

Six sticky sucker sticks.

The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.

Six twin-screwed steel steam cruisers.

A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk, but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.

Sly Sam slurps Sally's soup.

The soldiers should have shooters on their shoulders.

Some shun sunshine.

Strange strategic statistics.

Strict strong stringy Stephen Stretch slickly snared six sickly silky snakes.

"Surely Sylvia swims!" shrieked Sammy, surprised. "Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink."

Sure the ship's shipshape, sir.

Susan shineth shoes and socks;
Socks and shoes shines Susan.
She ceases shining shoes and socks,
For shoes and socks shock Susan.

Swan swam over the sea.
Swim, swan, swim!
Swan swam back again.
Well swum, swan!

T

That bloke's back bike brake-block broke.

Thieves seize skis.

Three free throws.

Three gray geese in the green grass grazing.
Gray were the geese and green was the grass.

Three twigs twined tightly.

Tim, the thin twin tinsmith.

Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.

A tree toad loved a she-toad
Who lived up in a tree.
He was a two-toed tree toad
But a three-toed toad was she.
The two-toed tree toad tried to win
The three-toed she-toad's heart,
For the two-toed tree toad loved the ground
That the three-toed tree toad trod.
But the two-toed tree toad tried in vain.
He couldn't please her whim.
From her tree toad bower
With her three-toed power
The she-toad vetoed him.

A truly rural frugal ruler's mural.

A tutor who tooted the flute
Tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to the tutor:
"Is it harder to toot or
To tutor two tooters to toot?"

Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.

Two toads, totally tired.

The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

U

Unique New York.

V

Vincent vowed vengence very vehemently.

W

We surely shall see the sun shine soon.

What noise annoys a noisy oyster? A noisy noise annoys a noisy oyster.

What time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?

When a twister a-twisting will twist him a twist,
For the twisting a twist, he three twines will entwist;
But if one of the twines of the twist do untwist,
The twine that untwisteth untwisteth the twist.

Which switch, Miss, is the right switch for Ipswich, Miss?

Which witch wished which wicked wish?

Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

While we were walking, we were watching window washers wash Washington's windows with warm washing water.

Whistle for the thistle sifter.

White eraser? Right away, sir!

Y

You've no need to light a night-light
On a light night like tonight,
For a night-light's light's a slight light,
And tonight's a night that's light.
When a night's light, like tonight's light,
It is really not quite right
To light night-lights with their slight lights
On a light night like tonight.